Returned Thursday night from Disney World and am still struggling with
how to describe this Goofy Challenge experience. I'm also still a bit
immersed in Disney World, having spent so much of the past week at the
parks. We are really becoming Disney people, if there is such a thing.
But the sense of accomplishment is still fresh, and now that I'm home
it may become more tangible.
We traveled on Friday the 6th, and the flight was simple and easy. Having my in-laws around to help us logistically is so helpful. They picked us up at the airport, loaned us a minivan, babysat at intervals, and were generally everywhere playing utility infield. Without their help the stress ratchets up several levels.
The marathon expo was nuts! Our kids were running the 200m and 100m races on Saturday, and there had been kids races on Friday as well of the same distances. This proved confusing to the volunteers directing traffic at the expo. Race packet pickup was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, which is a complex that includes a Grapefruit League ball field, about a dozen football/soccer fields, an indoor arena, and an outdoor track. The race packets for those running the marathon and half-marathon were located in the arena, and the signs for the kids races indicated the same. However when we got to the kids race pickup windows they were all deserted. We were told to go outside to the track to pick them up, and once there we found those deserted as well. Then we were told to go back inside because they had moved the packets. So we were there for over an hour. The expo itself was a mob scene, and there was no way to avoid the vendors and merchandise. I just wanted to get my bib and t-shirts and get out, but it was challenging. Plus the kids had been cooped up on a plane and needed either to rest or run around. Not a fun start to the trip, but we got it over with as best we could and headed to the resort.
Saturday morning and the half marathon brought a different kind of stress. I got up at 0330, which I thought was in plenty of time for a 0530 start. Considering I was staying less than a mile straight line distance from the starting line, I figured this was good. I was wrong! The bus I jumped on took over an hour to get from the resort to the drop off. At the drop off I hustled to get to the starting corral just as the first waves were starting the race. The fireworks were going off as I was walking up to the corral. I was trying to link up with my friends but they had been there for a while already, and were in corral E. Though I was assigned corral B, I entered E and started looking for them among the 27,000 other runners.
I had no goals for the half marathon other than to have fun with it. After all the training 13 miles is not much of a challenge itself; the challenge is doing 13 miles the day before a marathon.
It was still dark, and the weather was great. It was in the mid-40s and very clear, and the moon was bright. I was amazingly able to link up with my friends Erik and Tara about a mile into the race. Erik and I ran the first few miles with Tara and her friend before we lost them around mile 7 or 8. It was very slow-go for us, as there were a lot of walkers, and it was a crowded course that twisted and turned a lot and narrowed at times to a single lane about 6'-8' across. We ran through the Magic Kingdom, but no other parks; the course was mostly running along the highways that connect the parks. The last five miles we averaged a bit below 9 minutes per mile, after running the first 7-8 at 10:30-11:00. I finished the 13.1 in 2hrs and 14mins. It was starting to get warm as we were finishing, and it was good to be finished with the first 1/3 of the running.
After the half I came home and quickly took a shower
before running out the door to the kids races back at the ESPN complex.
The races were great for them, and I ended up playing catch with
Charlie for a while afterwards on a nice grass field. Weather was in
the mid to upper 70s at this point, though the humidity was low. A
nice, nearly perfect time of year in Florida.
Upon returning to our villa after the kids races I took an ice bath. Though it may sound a little masochistic, the ice bath is actually very soothing. I'd read about it before, but never used it as a tool for race preparation or recovery. The ice bath ended up being a great success. The remainder of Saturday was pretty low key. We had some pizza and watched the football games and relaxed. I went to the pool with Charlie and we played football in the shallow end for a while.
Learning my lesson from the half on Saturday, Sunday I got up at 0245 and was on a bus by 0315. The weather again favored me; 40 degrees or so, clear sky, mist all over. Leaving a little earlier meant a much easier link up with Erik, and we were in the corral with plenty of time to spare. One guy wearing a Goofy bib asked us if we could help him figure out his Garmin watch. He then admitted that this was his first marathon, and that he'd skipped the half the day prior.
After the countdown by Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the fireworks went off and the race started. I really didn't know how I was going to feel, or what kind of marathon it was going to be. From the beginning we were planning on running around 9 minute miles, and the first mile was at 9:17. However, the next several miles went by at quicker paces: 8:32, 8:52, 8:37, 8:39, 8:38, 8:47, 8:22.
After
stopping at a conveniently located tree, we ran
through the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom route was similar to the
1/2 marathon. Down Main Street USA, around the castle, towards Space
Mountain, into Fantasyland, through the middle of the castle, through
Adventureland and Frontierland. Lots of characters were out and plenty
of cast members. We didn't stop to take any pictures in Magic Kingdom.
Times for these miles: 8:28, 8:33, 8:43, 8:36, 8:31,
8:22. All very consistent mile splits through the park and down the
road towards Animal Kingdom.
We spent the next 5 or 6 miles running on the highway towards the Animal Kingdom. Finally, we entered the Animal Kingdom from the service entrance in the north end of the park. Eventually we ran through my very favorite places in the Animal Kingdom, including the Asia part where the Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest rides are. I really loved this, and was fired up as we ran past mile 18. 8:32, 8:33, 8:42, 8:42... Still very much keeping to the same pace. We ran through Dino Land and back out through the empty parking lot and I was still feeling really strong. I couldn't believe how well my body was holding up. We saw Tigger and Pooh and stopped to get a picture.
After leaving the Animal Kingdom we took back to the highways again, and around mile 19 my legs started feeling very heavy. There weren't any real hills on this course, but for the overpasses, and at this point they were becoming a bother. Somehow for miles 19, 20, 21 and 22 I held it together well and maintained a good pace. 8:42, 8:46, 8:47, 8:43. As we entered Hollywood Studios I started feeling pretty light headed. It was cool running through the park, and there were plenty of water stops during the last few miles. At some point amongst the Cliff Shots and bananas that people were offering, someone offered me chocolate - a mini Hershey's Krackel and Mr. Goodbar. I was thrilled to get these and stuffed them into my mouth, not caring what it would do to me.
We exited Hollywood Studios just before mile 24, and I beginning to near an out of body experience. I finally told Erik to go ahead, and that I had to walk for a minute. Mile 23 was a 9:00 mile, so though I'd felt pretty bad we hadn't slacked the pace much. We were pacing for a 3:50-3:52 marathon.
I started to walk and immediately felt better for it. I walked up to the mile 24 marker and through a water stop as we passed the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk. After about 2-3 minutes I started running again, still confident that I'd be under 4 hours.
We entered the Epcot World Showcase behind Great Britain and the course made its way around the lagoon. I was no longer feeling light headed, so I did the best I could around the world, jogging mostly. I love the World Showcase, but if I'm going to dizzily make my way around it, I prefer it be the result of beers.
Miles 24-26: 9:41, 10:55, 10:46.
After crossing back into Epcot proper ("Epcot Center") I longed for the 26 mile marker and the end. I got my wish, and crossed the line at 3:56:37, the second best marathon time I have ever run, and second under 4 hours.
Immediately after crossing the line I felt fine. Great, even. I received my Mickey medal, then my Goofy medal, and then I saw Erik, who had finished at 3:50, and we exchanged congratulations. As we were talking a guy started throwing up about 10' from us. All water and Powerade. Pretty nasty. I walked him over to an aid station where someone might help him out. After getting a bagel and banana, as well as some Cliff Builders (I love those things!) I drank a Coke. That Coke tasted dynamite.
I got on a bus for our resort within 10 minutes of crossing the line and was soon back at the villa, where Aimee and the boys greeted me. They were ready to go to the parks! I took a shower to rinse, then a 10 minute ice bath, ate a piece of cold pizza, and we went out the door to the Magic Kingdom.
I spent the next four days on my feet for 10-12 hours per day, walking around Disney World. I was not sore, and nothing hurt. I was pretty tired, but nothing serious. I owe all of this to hard training over the past six months. A few questions remain for me after this Goofy Challenge performance, including whether or not I can run a sub 3:50 marathon right now. I think I could, but I'm not going to find out. I think I'm done marathoning for the time being. I'll post more later on my post race thoughts and what's next for me.
We traveled on Friday the 6th, and the flight was simple and easy. Having my in-laws around to help us logistically is so helpful. They picked us up at the airport, loaned us a minivan, babysat at intervals, and were generally everywhere playing utility infield. Without their help the stress ratchets up several levels.
The marathon expo was nuts! Our kids were running the 200m and 100m races on Saturday, and there had been kids races on Friday as well of the same distances. This proved confusing to the volunteers directing traffic at the expo. Race packet pickup was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, which is a complex that includes a Grapefruit League ball field, about a dozen football/soccer fields, an indoor arena, and an outdoor track. The race packets for those running the marathon and half-marathon were located in the arena, and the signs for the kids races indicated the same. However when we got to the kids race pickup windows they were all deserted. We were told to go outside to the track to pick them up, and once there we found those deserted as well. Then we were told to go back inside because they had moved the packets. So we were there for over an hour. The expo itself was a mob scene, and there was no way to avoid the vendors and merchandise. I just wanted to get my bib and t-shirts and get out, but it was challenging. Plus the kids had been cooped up on a plane and needed either to rest or run around. Not a fun start to the trip, but we got it over with as best we could and headed to the resort.
Saturday morning and the half marathon brought a different kind of stress. I got up at 0330, which I thought was in plenty of time for a 0530 start. Considering I was staying less than a mile straight line distance from the starting line, I figured this was good. I was wrong! The bus I jumped on took over an hour to get from the resort to the drop off. At the drop off I hustled to get to the starting corral just as the first waves were starting the race. The fireworks were going off as I was walking up to the corral. I was trying to link up with my friends but they had been there for a while already, and were in corral E. Though I was assigned corral B, I entered E and started looking for them among the 27,000 other runners.
I had no goals for the half marathon other than to have fun with it. After all the training 13 miles is not much of a challenge itself; the challenge is doing 13 miles the day before a marathon.
It was still dark, and the weather was great. It was in the mid-40s and very clear, and the moon was bright. I was amazingly able to link up with my friends Erik and Tara about a mile into the race. Erik and I ran the first few miles with Tara and her friend before we lost them around mile 7 or 8. It was very slow-go for us, as there were a lot of walkers, and it was a crowded course that twisted and turned a lot and narrowed at times to a single lane about 6'-8' across. We ran through the Magic Kingdom, but no other parks; the course was mostly running along the highways that connect the parks. The last five miles we averaged a bit below 9 minutes per mile, after running the first 7-8 at 10:30-11:00. I finished the 13.1 in 2hrs and 14mins. It was starting to get warm as we were finishing, and it was good to be finished with the first 1/3 of the running.
 |
| Post kids races |
 |
| The hardware! |
Upon returning to our villa after the kids races I took an ice bath. Though it may sound a little masochistic, the ice bath is actually very soothing. I'd read about it before, but never used it as a tool for race preparation or recovery. The ice bath ended up being a great success. The remainder of Saturday was pretty low key. We had some pizza and watched the football games and relaxed. I went to the pool with Charlie and we played football in the shallow end for a while.
Learning my lesson from the half on Saturday, Sunday I got up at 0245 and was on a bus by 0315. The weather again favored me; 40 degrees or so, clear sky, mist all over. Leaving a little earlier meant a much easier link up with Erik, and we were in the corral with plenty of time to spare. One guy wearing a Goofy bib asked us if we could help him figure out his Garmin watch. He then admitted that this was his first marathon, and that he'd skipped the half the day prior.
After the countdown by Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the fireworks went off and the race started. I really didn't know how I was going to feel, or what kind of marathon it was going to be. From the beginning we were planning on running around 9 minute miles, and the first mile was at 9:17. However, the next several miles went by at quicker paces: 8:32, 8:52, 8:37, 8:39, 8:38, 8:47, 8:22.
 |
| Main Street USA welcomes me to the Magic Kingdom |
We spent the next 5 or 6 miles running on the highway towards the Animal Kingdom. Finally, we entered the Animal Kingdom from the service entrance in the north end of the park. Eventually we ran through my very favorite places in the Animal Kingdom, including the Asia part where the Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest rides are. I really loved this, and was fired up as we ran past mile 18. 8:32, 8:33, 8:42, 8:42... Still very much keeping to the same pace. We ran through Dino Land and back out through the empty parking lot and I was still feeling really strong. I couldn't believe how well my body was holding up. We saw Tigger and Pooh and stopped to get a picture.
After leaving the Animal Kingdom we took back to the highways again, and around mile 19 my legs started feeling very heavy. There weren't any real hills on this course, but for the overpasses, and at this point they were becoming a bother. Somehow for miles 19, 20, 21 and 22 I held it together well and maintained a good pace. 8:42, 8:46, 8:47, 8:43. As we entered Hollywood Studios I started feeling pretty light headed. It was cool running through the park, and there were plenty of water stops during the last few miles. At some point amongst the Cliff Shots and bananas that people were offering, someone offered me chocolate - a mini Hershey's Krackel and Mr. Goodbar. I was thrilled to get these and stuffed them into my mouth, not caring what it would do to me.
We exited Hollywood Studios just before mile 24, and I beginning to near an out of body experience. I finally told Erik to go ahead, and that I had to walk for a minute. Mile 23 was a 9:00 mile, so though I'd felt pretty bad we hadn't slacked the pace much. We were pacing for a 3:50-3:52 marathon.
I started to walk and immediately felt better for it. I walked up to the mile 24 marker and through a water stop as we passed the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk. After about 2-3 minutes I started running again, still confident that I'd be under 4 hours.
We entered the Epcot World Showcase behind Great Britain and the course made its way around the lagoon. I was no longer feeling light headed, so I did the best I could around the world, jogging mostly. I love the World Showcase, but if I'm going to dizzily make my way around it, I prefer it be the result of beers.
Miles 24-26: 9:41, 10:55, 10:46.
After crossing back into Epcot proper ("Epcot Center") I longed for the 26 mile marker and the end. I got my wish, and crossed the line at 3:56:37, the second best marathon time I have ever run, and second under 4 hours.
Immediately after crossing the line I felt fine. Great, even. I received my Mickey medal, then my Goofy medal, and then I saw Erik, who had finished at 3:50, and we exchanged congratulations. As we were talking a guy started throwing up about 10' from us. All water and Powerade. Pretty nasty. I walked him over to an aid station where someone might help him out. After getting a bagel and banana, as well as some Cliff Builders (I love those things!) I drank a Coke. That Coke tasted dynamite.
I got on a bus for our resort within 10 minutes of crossing the line and was soon back at the villa, where Aimee and the boys greeted me. They were ready to go to the parks! I took a shower to rinse, then a 10 minute ice bath, ate a piece of cold pizza, and we went out the door to the Magic Kingdom.
I spent the next four days on my feet for 10-12 hours per day, walking around Disney World. I was not sore, and nothing hurt. I was pretty tired, but nothing serious. I owe all of this to hard training over the past six months. A few questions remain for me after this Goofy Challenge performance, including whether or not I can run a sub 3:50 marathon right now. I think I could, but I'm not going to find out. I think I'm done marathoning for the time being. I'll post more later on my post race thoughts and what's next for me.
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